


My Innocence is Wearing Thin

by khaleesiq



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-17
Updated: 2013-11-17
Packaged: 2018-01-01 19:40:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1047815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khaleesiq/pseuds/khaleesiq
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Zayn's name is called at the Reaping he thinks he has no chance of winning the Hunger Games. But maybe, just maybe, Liam, the tribute from District 4, can help him.</p>
<p>Or, Zayn, Liam, Niall, Harry, and Louis are thrown into the Hunger Games and they somehow all make it out alive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Innocence is Wearing Thin

**Author's Note:**

> So, I know what you're thinking, how the hell can there be a Hunger Games AU where all five of the boys survive? Well, it wasn't easy, but somehow I managed to make it work, even though the ending is kind of weird and doesn't really make any sense. But hey, would you rather have them all die?  
> Also, there are some deaths, but they're all original characters.
> 
> Title taken from the song "Miss Movin' On" by Fifth Harmony

**Zayn**

The town square fills rapidly with hordes of boys and girls dressed in their finest clothes as they all await their fate. The parents and older citizens of District 12 stand in the sides praying and hoping that their child or someone they care about isn't called to represent their district in the 67th Annual Hunger Games.

Zayn makes his way towards the front of the boys' section, where the sixteen and seventeen year olds are gathered. He stands on his tiptoes to try and find any one of his sisters, but the place is too crowded. He hopes that none of them are called in the next few minutes and if they are, wishes that he was a girl so that he could volunteer to take their place.

A woman decked out in a dress covered in bright blues and greens and wearing heavy makeup that matches her outfit steps onto the stage to let everyone know that she will be announcing the tributes in a short time. She backs away from the microphone to let their mayor read the speech that he reads every year, describing the history of Panem and the Hunger Games.

When the mayor finishes his speech he lets the woman, Perrie Something-or-Other, Zayn can never remember, steps back up the microphone and tells them she will be drawing the tributes now, girls first, boys second. She reaches into the first bowl and Zayn holds his breath, willing it not to be one of his sisters.

"Laurel Caswell," Perrie says.

Zayn sighs in relief as the girl slowly walks up to the stage. Lou takes her hand and pulls her onto the stage roughly when she doesn't do it herself fast enough. Zayn doesn't know Laurel that well, has only seen her in school a few times, so he's sure that he won't feel that bad if he sees her die. And judging by the pale, nervous look on her face, and District 12's history of winners, he's almost certain that he will see her die.

After Laurel is on stage Perrie puts her hand in the second bowl and digs around before pulling one out. Zayn holds his breath again and waits for her to call out the poor boy's name, mentally telling himself over and over again that it won't be him, _can't_ be him. His name isn't even in there as many times as it was last year, he should be fine.

"Zayn Malik," Perrie calls.

Instead of letting out a sigh of relief Zayn's breath hitches in his throat. He's not sure if he's even heard right, except the boys around him are staring at him with wide eyes, but relieved expressions. And then Perrie calls again, "Zayn? Zayn Malik?"

Zayn's not sure how he does it because his legs feel like jelly and he's starting to get a little light-headed, but he makes it up to the stage. Perrie takes his hand to help him and suddenly he's standing next to Laurel, his face probably as white as hers now.

"Let's give a big round of applause for our tributes!" Perrie says excitedly. Everyone claps with no emotion, sorry for the helpless kids on the stage, but glad that at least it's not them. Zayn hates them for it, even though that was him all those years before this one.

Perrie leads the two of them into the city hall once the applause dies down and they're ushered into separate rooms, where they will share goodbyes with their loved ones. Zayn waits on the windowsill, tapping his fingers against the glass anxiously, until his sisters burst into the room.

"Zayn!" Safaa shrieks as she jumps into his arms. "Please don't go! I'll go for you."

Zayn can't help the tears that are now streaming down his cheeks endlessly. "Thanks Saf, but you know you can't do that. Besides, I'd miss you too much."

Safaa shakes her head, crying even harder than Zayn. "But I'm going to miss you too much too."

"I could win though," Zayn tells her, even though they all know that's practically impossible. Some of the other kids are good, ridiculously so. One year, they saw someone from District 6 kill someone by beating their head senselessly against the base of a tree until it burst open. Zayn shudders at the thought that that might be him in a couple of days, but he doesn't need to tell Safaa that. "I'm smart," he continues, "I might be able to figure something out."

Safaa nods and squeezes him tightly. The rest of the goodbyes go much the same; Zayn assuring them that he will be fine before giving them a tight hug. When they're all gone Zayn leans back against the glass, not expecting anyone else to come in, although he secretly hopes that someone does. No one else does come in and Zayn is soon being taken out of the room just as quickly as he was brought in.

The thing is, Zayn doesn't have a lot of friends. He mostly keeps to himself, reading or drawing, because he's not the best at socializing or making people like him. He thought there was nothing wrong with that before, but now he knows that will be his downfall. The Hunger Games is not just about survival, but also about being likeable, and making friends. The more friends you make in the game, the less likely it will be for you to die, and the more likeable you are, the more sponsors you will get. And besides yourself, sponsors are the most important factor in your survival.

Zayn and Laurel are thrown onto the train right after they exit city hall. Perrie follows them inside and gives them a brief tour of where they will sleep before showing them the dining car, where they will be meeting their mentor.

The dining car is so much better than Zayn expects. Sure, the rest of the train is amazing and much grander than anything Zayn has ever seen. But the dining car is just... overwhelming. Zayn has never seen so much food in one place before, especially such extravagant delicacies. There's dozens of tiny little cakes of all colors covering the table from one end to the other, and a number fruits and vegetables set out. But the best part of the entire display is the meat. Zayn can't even tell what kind of meat it is, chicken or turkey he thinks, but his mouth waters all the same at the sight of it.

"You can help yourselves to anything you like," Perrie tells them, gesturing to the table filled with food. "I'm going to get Simon, it shouldn't take too long."

As soon as Perrie leaves the room Zayn and Laurel head straight toward the table, but hesitate to take anything. Zayn doesn't know if it's because he doesn't know where to start or whether if it's because they're not used to having this much food in front of them, so they're not sure what to do in this situation.

Zayn looks to Laurel only to find that Laurel is looking back at Zayn, waiting for him to make the first move. Zayn thinks, _fuck it_ , and picks up a cupcake with purple frosting. The door opens just as he's taking his first bite and relishing in the heavenly taste of it. Zayn turns to see Perrie walking in with an older man. It's their mentor, Simon.

"Right," Simon says as he sits at the table. "Let's get to business."

Zayn's a little more than surprised at Simon's attitude toward them. He thought that Simon would be careless and not give a shit about them because they were going to lose anyway. But instead Simon is formal and straightforward, and Zayn is kind of intimidated by this man.

"So, you two are my tributes this year," he says, raising his eyebrows. Zayn and Laurel nod and Simon sighs. "Well, this is going to be a lot harder than I expected."

"What do you mean by that?" Zayn says, offended. Simon acts as if they're not good enough to be competing, that there's no way that someone like them could ever hope to win.

"I mean," Simon says, leaning forward, "that you guys don't exactly scream 'Victor'."

"We might surprise you," Zayn counters.

"I hope that you do," Simon says. "But for now let's go over the basics."

He starts rattling off everything they need to know about training and interviews, and Zayn finds it hard to keep up. He sits down in the chair across from Simon and thinks, _This is going to be a long train ride._

-

He's introduced to his stylist as soon as he's off the train and he's been touched up by a few people. Instead of greeting him, however, she just walks up to him and starts playing with his hair.

"Hmm," she hums as she tangles her fingers in it and ruffles it around a little. "I think that I'll add some product and put it up, what do you think?"

"I think that I should at least know your name before you start messing around with my hair," Zayn says.

She laughs and holds out her hand. "I'm Lou Teasdale, your stylist."

Zayn grins and shakes her hand. "Zayn Malik, your tribute."

She winces a little at that but then she's back to her smiling self again. "So, let's see what we can do about that costume of yours."

Two hours later, both he and Laurel are ready for the opening ceremonies. Rather than have them dress in what had been the standard coal miners uniform like the past few years, Lou had decided to do something totally different to show them that District 12 matters too.

All the tributes lineup on their chariots, which Zayn thinks is ridiculous and unnecessary, but he doesn't really have a say in the matter anyway.

"Ready?" Lou asks.

"No," Zayn and Laurel say at the same.

Lou just flashes them that bright smile of hers. "You guys will be fine, I promise."

Zayn hears the announcer, Nick Grimshaw, begin the ceremonies and suddenly the chariots are moving, and Nick is calling out the tributes' names and their districts.

"Representing District 1," Nick says, "we have Louis Tomlinson and Ruby Rosham. From District 2 there's Harry Styles and Willow Henry."

Zayn tunes out the next tributes because he's too busy watching the boy tribute from District 4. He's wearing a brightly colored costume and he's smiling and waving as he rides on the back of the chariot, but unlike the tributes before him, his smile seems genuine, like he actually likes all the Capitol citizens sitting in the crowd, instead of detesting them with every fiber of his being like Zayn does.

"Our tributes from District 4 are Liam Payne and..."

Zayn doesn't care about who the girl is, just Liam. He's from District 4 which means he's a Career- who are usually vicious and ruthless tributes that train their whole lives for the Games. But Liam doesn't seem that way, not with the way he's grinning and laughing, making his eyes crinkle at the corners--

Zayn shakes his head. He's hopeless enough as it is, and the last thing he needs is a distraction. It's probably all an act anyway.

"Niall Horan and May Whitfield are representing District 11," Nick announces and then it's Zayn and Laurel's turn. "And last, but not least, from District 12 are Za-- oh my god."

He watches as the faces in the crowd around them go from shock to awe to excitement. Suddenly everyone is clapping and cheering for them, stunned and excited that District 12 actually managed to surprise them.

"District 12's industry is coal mining," Nick explains, "but they're not coal, they're diamonds."

The cheering increases as they continue their way through the stands, Zayn in his glittering white suit, Laurel in her sparkling white dress. Zayn notices Liam staring at them with wide eyes and he feels his cheeks color. He hopes that nobody can tell.

Once they meet up with the other chariots their President steps up and welcomes them to the Capitol and wishes them a happy Hunger Games. After that they're all supposed to go to their rooms but Zayn feels someone's hand on his arm as he's following Laurel and Perrie.

He turns to find Liam smiling at him and, fuck, he's even more attractive close up. His arms are huge and he has a sharp jaw, but a soft and kind-looking face with big brown eyes and his lips--

"Zayn, right?" Liam says, breaking him out of his reverie.

Zayn just nods and hopes that Liam can't hear how fast his heart is beating at the moment. He hopes Liam takes his hand off of him before he goes into cardiac arrest.

"I just wanted to say that you were amazing out there," Liam says sincerely.

Zayn snorts. "I didn't even do anything."

Liam chuckles. "We'll you looked amazing. You really surprised us. I mean all of us, not just the people here in the Capitol, the people back home too."

Zayn thanks him for the compliment quietly and watches as Liam joins his group. He hopes that Liam is right, that he did surprise the people back home and that his family is proud of him, at least for this short time before he goes into the arena.

**\---**

**Liam**

Liam walks into training the next day with the intention of spending the entire time with his partner, Cara. But once they're inside the room Cara leaves him to join a group of girls from Districts 1 and 2. Liam shrugs it off-- he and Cara have never really gotten along with each other anyway-- and starts to head over to where Zayn is, but is quickly intercepted by the boys from Districts 1 and 2.

"Liam, from District 4?" the shorter boy, Louis he thinks, says.

"Yeah, and you are...?" Liam says, glancing between the two of them.

"I'm Louis, from 1, and this is Harry, from 2," Louis tells him. "We have a proposition for you."

Liam knows what they want. They came over here to ask him to be an ally in the Games, and Liam wants no part of it. He knows that that's what everyone expects, for all the Careers to become allies with each other and win, but Liam doesn't want to do what everyone expects of him. The rest of the Careers look at the Games as some kind of honor, whereas Liam despises them more than anything in the world, and he will do whatever he can to rebel against them.

"If you're asking me to be an ally then my answer is 'no'," Liam spits, and tries to move past him but Harry blocks his way.

"We have a plan, but we need you as an ally for it to work," Harry explains.

"I don't care," Liam snaps. "I don't want to be allies with you, and I don't care about your stupid plan." He pushes past them and this time neither of them stops him. He makes his way over to Zayn, who's still working on trying to make a fire. Liam sits down next to him and Zayn looks up in confusion.

"What are you doing here?" Zayn asks.

Liam shrugs. "I thought I'd lend you a hand."

"Shouldn't you be with the others?" Zayn says, nodding in the direction of where Harry and Louis are showing off their combat skills.

"I don't want to be with them," Liam tells him. "I'd rather be with you."

"But you're a Career," Zayn says slowly, as if trying to make Liam understand what he's trying to say, and Liam does. Zayn is saying that Liam should be arrogant and confident, spending every second planning out how to defeat everyone else, not hanging out with people from outlying Districts that have no chance of winning.

"I know," Liam says, reaching out a hand to help him with the fire, but pulls back at the look Zayn gives him. "Look, I just want to be your friend."

Zayn stands up then. "Well maybe I don't need a friend."

Liam stays frozen in place as he watches Zayn walk to the opposite side of the room. Liam doesn't know what it is, but there's something about Zayn that intrigues him. Even at his Reaping Liam knew there was something special about him, and that feeling only intensified after that spectacular performance the night before. Liam wants nothing more than to get to know him better, but clearly Zayn doesn't want to be around Liam, so he'll respect that for now.

Liam gives up trying to build Zayn's abandoned fire and decides to lift some weights instead, but stops short when he sees the blond boy from District 11 using the bow and arrow. Liam doesn't have very much experience with that weapon himself, but he still thinks he could give the boy some pointers. That is, until the boy actually releases the arrow and it hits the target just a few inches away from the middle.

"Where did you learn to shoot like that?" Liam asks him incredulously.

The boy whirls around and drops the bow in surprise. "How long were you watching me?"

Liam picks up the bow and hands it to him. "Long enough to know that you're an amazing archer. But seriously, where did you learn to shoot like that?"

The boy shrugs. "My mom taught me."

"Why?"

He shrugs again. "I don't know, she never said, but it's a good thing she did otherwise I would have no chance of winning."

"What makes you say that?" Liam asks.

"I'm not exactly Victor material," the boy says. "I don't know the first thing about making fires, or setting traps, or fighting other people."

Liam smiles and puts his arm around the other boy. "That's why we have training, so you can learn how to do those things." He leads him over to the ropes course. "By the way, I'm Liam, District 4."

"Niall, District 11."

The rest of his time in the training center that day is spent helping Niall learn certain survival skills and trying to figure out what his strengths and weaknesses are. Liam already knew that Niall's incredible at archery, but he was surprised to see that Niall was a pretty good climber too. Unfortunately, Niall isn't that strong and he's awful in combat. Liam tells him that if he doesn't get any better by the end of the week then Niall can just hide in trees and shoot arrows at people.

The next couple of days go much the same way as the first, with Liam and Niall mainly focusing on their weaknesses, but also learning other basic survival skills such as setting traps and identifying different species of plants. On the third, and last, training day, Liam is surprised when Zayn decides to join them in a few of their activities.

Niall is on the ropes course again when Zayn speaks up for the first time, saying, "I saw you helping Niall with throwing knives."

Liam nods. "Yeah, he's ace at archery, but other than that he can't aim for the life of him."

"Well," Zayn looks down at the ground and rubs the back of his neck, as if he's afraid to ask Liam for help, "I was wondering if you could help me with my aim."

"Yeah, no problem," Liam says. "But only if you do something for me."

Zayn doesn't answer, just waits for Liam to continue.

"Will you be my ally in the arena?" Liam asks, and bites his lip as he waits for Zayn's answer.

"I thought Niall was your ally," Zayn says.

"He can be if he wants," Liam says. "But I can have more than one ally, you know."

"Fine," Zayn agrees finally, "I'll be your ally, but I don't know why you would really want me. I don't have any special skills and I'm okay in combat, but there's nothing I can do that will help me win."

"Is that why you want my help with throwing knives?" Liam asks. "So that you can do something?"

"That's more for me to show the judges tomorrow," Zayn says. "Making traps and tying knots isn't exactly going to get me a good score."

"Okay," Liam says, nodding. He understands where Zayn is coming from; the judges only care about skills concerning how good you'll be in combat or that show your strength. They don't give a shit about how well you can survive on your own in the wilderness or how well you can climb a tree. And the better score you have, the more sponsors you're likely to get.

"We're going over to the knife throwing," Liam yells to Niall. Niall gives a quick thumbs up and almost falls, but is quick to grab back on. Liam leads Zayn over to where the girl from District 6 is practicing her aim, and she's actually quite good, only missing two of the five targets by more than a few inches. When she's finished she smirks at Liam and Zayn before waltzing over to where the bow and arrows are.

Liam shows Zayn how to stand before grabbing a knife and handing it to Zayn. He has Zayn throw it once without any pointers and his aim isn't all that bad. It's closer to the edge of the target than it is the middle, but that's still pretty good for someone that just learned how to do this a couple of days ago.

"Not bad," Liam tells him. "But I think you could do better."

Zayn snorts. "I seriously doubt that."

Liam ignores him and hands him another knife. "You're not exactly throwing it the 'wrong way' but there is a better way to do it. Instead of just throwing it straight ahead, hold it by the blade and kind of give a flick of the wrist as you throw it so it spins before hitting the target."

Zayn stares at him blankly. "What?"

Instead of trying to explain it again, Liam grabs a knife and throws it himself as slowly as he can to show Zayn what he means. It hits the target just centimeters away from the center and Liam grins while Zayn gapes at him.

"Now you try," Liam says.

Zayn shakes his head and mutters, "Fucking Careers," under his breath and then tries to throw the knife the way Liam told him to. This time it doesn't even hit the target, and it goes sailing towards the back wall. Liam can't help but burst out laughing and Zayn's face turns red and he glares at Liam.

"Fuck this," he says, and starts to stomp away but Liam grabs his arm.

"Wait, Zayn, I'm sorry," Liam tries. "It wasn't funny, it really wasn't."

Zayn turns around and he still looks seriously pissed off. "Then why did you laugh?"

"Because it reminded me of my first time," Liam says. "Believe it or not there was a time when I was completely shit at all of this." Zayn's features soften a little at that, but he still doesn't move or say anything. Liam takes a step closer to Zayn and continues, "I was this scrawny little kid that didn't know how to throw a knife or throw a punch. The only thing I really knew how to do was swim, and that's only because that's the first thing we learn how to do in my district."

Zayn's lips tilt up into a smile at that. "It's kind of hard to imagine you like that, considering how you look now."

Liam smiles. "I've had years of training, and since you've only had three days I'm not expecting you to be as good as the Careers who've been training their entire lives for this. Even that," he points at the first target, "I'm a bit surprised at. So you're not going to be perfect at this, but I still think you can do it well enough to at least get a good score tomorrow, okay?"

Zayn hesitates before nodding and stepping up to the target again. Liam gives him a knife and stands behind him as he says quietly into his ear. "This time, focus more on the target rather than just throwing the knife." He grabs Zayn's arm and pulls it back, and doesn't miss the way that Zayn's breath is becoming more unsteady by the second, or that Liam's own heart is beating more rapidly just from the close contact between the two of them.

Liam guides Zayn's arm as he throws it and this time it lands closer to the target than the first time Zayn tried. Liam grins at him and says, "Now try and do it without my help."

Zayn nods and Liam hands him his last knife. Zayn takes a deep breath and Liam tells him, “Remember everything I told you. How to throw the knife and focus on the target. Concentrate on where you want the knife to go and pretend like I'm helping you."

Zayn nods, closes his eyes, and opens them right before throwing the knife. It lands just slightly off-target, farther away than Liam's was, but much closer than his other ones. Zayn grins at Liam as he goes to collect the knives from the targets.

"Just do exactly that tomorrow and you should be fine," Liam says with pride in his voice. "And don't forget what you agreed to so that I would help you."

Zayn rolls his eyes, but he's still smiling when he says, "Yes I'll remember. Thank you, Liam."

"You're welcome, Zayn," Liam says.

"Hey District 4!" someone shouts from behind them. "Are you and your boyfriend almost done? Some of us that actually have a chance want to get some practicing done."

Liam and Zayn turn to see the District 3 boy standing behind them with his arms crossed over his chest. Liam rolls his eyes and shoves past him saying, "Be my guest, but you should know that arrogance is no guarantee of survival." Liam normally wouldn't have said anything back, but he knew that his comment was meant for Zayn, and that bothered Liam.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" District 3 spits.

"I mean," Liam says turning to face him, "that just because you think you're good at everything doesn't mean you're going to live. There are so many other things that could kill you, such as dehydration, heat exhaustion, frostbite, starvation. Plus, you have to be a somewhat likeable person to win, because the more people that like you, the more sponsors you'll get, and the likelihood of your survival will increase. And you seem to be doing a pretty shit job of getting people to like you."

He really should have seen the punch coming. Liam really hadn't meant to get into a fight with this boy, he only wanted to put him in his place. But as soon as the words leave his lips Liam is sent sprawling to the ground. His chin is throbbing and he knows that he's going to have a very noticeable bruise the next day. He stands up and he knows it's a bad idea to hit back, but he does it anyway because he'd always been taught that he should fight back no matter what.

Liam throws a punch right to District 3's eye. He must have been expecting it, though, because he only stumbles backwards, rather than being caught off guard and falling to the ground like Liam. The other boy goes to hit Liam again but Liam blocks it and sends a swift kick to the boy's knees, making him fall the floor. He starts to stand back up and Liam is about to hit him again when someone grabs his arms and someone else yells, "Stop!"

Both the boys freeze as a few of the trainers come over to separate the two of them. Zayn loosens his grip on Liam after the District 3 boy is ushered out of the training center. One of the head trainers turns to Liam and snaps, "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that he was being rude to me and my friend so I should put him in his place," Liam tells the trainer. "Then he punched me so I hit him back."

"He punched you first?" the trainer clarifies. Liam nods and she addresses the others, "Who else saw what happened?"

Zayn steps forward and says softly, "I saw it happen."

"And?"

"And the other boy threw the first punch."

The trainer sighs and warns Liam not to let anything like that again or he will suffer the consequences. Once she's gone Harry and Louis come up to Liam.

"Are you guys joined at the hip or something?" Liam says.

"What do you mean?" Harry asks.

"I've never seen the two of you apart," Liam says.

Louis ignores him and says, "Are you sure you want nothing to do with us? It looks like you've made a few enemies before the game has even started."

"The game started when our names were called at the Reaping," Liam retorts.

"That boy you just got in a fight with has already made allies with three other Careers," Harry says. "And you're probably the first on their hit list now, so I think it would be best if you had some friends in there."

"I do have friends," Liam counters.

"I'm sure 11 and 12 are great," Louis says, "but what will happen when you're in a fight and you need back up and they can't give it to you?"

Liam thinks about that for a moment. Louis is right; Zayn and Niall may be fine when it comes to survival, but if they ever ended up in a fight they would be gone for good. Maybe Liam could use Louis and Harry as allies.

"Okay," Liam complies, "what's the plan?"

-

After their private training sessions where the judges watch each of the tributes individually, Liam and Cara are gathered in the sitting room with his mentors, stylist, and escort to see what their scores are. Liam is glad to see that both Louis and Harry got a ten, which means that they have pretty high chances of winning. Both Liam and the boy from District 3 get a nine, while Niall gets a seven, and Zayn gets an eight. Liam is actually surprised at Zayn's score, not because he lacked confidence in Zayn but because he thought the judges would be a bit harder on him since he's from an outlying District.

When that's over Liam and Cara start focusing on the interviews, which are tomorrow night. Each of them will have some special quality that they show off during the interview to try and get sponsors to like them better, especially if they got a terrible score. Cara's quality is her stealthiness, and Liam's is confidence. But his mentor is teaching him to be arrogant rather than confident, and Liam knows he can be confident without sounding cocky. So Liam just listens to everything his mentor tells him, and then decides to do his interview his own way.

The next night, all twenty four tributes are lined up to do their interviews. Each person gets three minutes, girl tribute first, boy second. They are dressed in their finest clothes that their stylists designed specifically for them, and Liam can tell that Zayn's stylist continued with the whole diamond theme from the first night.

The first seven interviews go quickly, with Louis displaying sassiness, and Harry charming the pants off of Nick Grimshaw, and soon enough it's Liam's turn to talk. He takes a deep breath and then steps up to Nick.

"So Liam," Nick starts, "what is your plan for winning?"

"Well I've already made some pretty great friends and I think that together we could make it," Liam answers with a bright smile.

"And are these friends as confident as you are?" Nick asks.

"A couple of them aren't, but I know that they're amazing so there's no reason for them to feel down on themselves," Liam tells him.

"Now, Liam," Nick continues, "have there been some surprises for you this year?"

"Oh definitely," Liam replies. "The tributes from District 12 have especially stood out this year, and they're performances so far have been just unbelievable."

"Well so have yours," Nick points out.

"Thank you," Liam responds, "I do have my strengths."

"And we hope to see them all out in the arena tomorrow," Nick says. The buzzer indicating that Liam's time is up goes off and Nick exclaims, "Everyone give it up for Liam!"

The crowd cheers and Liam retreats to the back of the stage. The rest of the interviews are a total blur, nobody really standing out to Liam. Before long it's Niall's turn, playing comedic, then Zayn's partner Laurel, who does innocence, and then finally Zayn.

"And last but certainly not least," Nick announces when it's Zayn's turn, "from District 12, we have Zayn Malik!"

The crowd claps as Zayn takes his place beside Nick.

"That was quite a spectacular show you and your partner gave us the other night," Nick says.

Zayn nods and says, "Yeah, our stylist Lou is pretty brilliant."

"I agree," Nick replies. "But what do you think makes you two so special?"

"We have willpower," Zayn answers. "We're not willing to go down without a fight."

"So are you two planning on standing together in the Games?" Nick asks.

"Honestly," Zayn says, "I don't have a plan. I'm just going to go out there and hope for the best."

"Well let me just tell you that we are all counting on you," Nick says. The buzzer goes off and Nick shouts, "Let's hear it for Zayn and all the tributes! And may the odds be ever in your favor."

The crowd erupts into applause as the tributes exit off the stage. Liam is following Cara back to their room when someone grabs his hand and pulls him away from the group.

"Why did you do that?" Zayn demands once they're in private.

"Why did I do what?" Liam asks, confused.

"Why did you make it sound as if I'm better than I actually am?" Zayn inquires. "That's going to get me killed you know."

Liam genuinely thought he was doing Zayn a favor by saying those things about him, hoping that it would help him get more sponsors. But the more he thinks about it the more he realizes that Zayn is right, it is going to get him killed.

"I'm sorry," Liam says sincerely. "I thought I was helping you and Laurel--"

"Well stop trying to help me," Zayn spits. "I don't need your help, I don't need you as my friend, and I certainly don't need you as an ally."

"But Zayn--"

"If you really think I'm better than I actually am, then I should be fine alone shouldn't I?" Zayn says before pushing past Liam and joining his group. "Oh, and one more thing, District 4: Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

**\---**

**Zayn**

The cylinder rises ever so slowly, and inch by dreadful inch Zayn begins to see more of the arena. At first, all he can see is the sun, burning so brightly that it blinds him for a second. Then he sees the trees, and they don't look like any tree that he has ever seen before. Next he notices other plants, all bright pinks and oranges and reds. When his platform has finally reached the ground he can see that the spot they're in is the only spot without any tree coverage. All around them, gigantic trees with large leaves cover every inch of soil. Zayn thinks back to his lessons from school and figures out what kind of climate they're in: a tropical rainforest.

He stops examining his surroundings to focus on the more important task at hand. All twenty four tributes are gathered in a circle around the Cornucopia, a huge structure that holds all the best weapons and gear they could possibly hope for. Zayn knows from watching previous years' Hunger Games that running for the Cornucopia will result in a huge bloodbath, so he can't risk running towards it right away.

Zayn looks at the clock and they only have forty five seconds left until they can leave their platforms safely. He uses this time to strategize. There are some items gathered near his feet that look totally useless, but they might still come in handy when he least expects it. He spots a backpack closer to the Cornucopia, but not close enough that he thinks he'll end up in the bloodbath. So he'll grab the dark green blanket lying closest to his feet, the bundle of rope placed a bit farther away, and finally the backpack before he makes a dash for the safety of the forest.

Only fifteen seconds now, and some of the other tributes are getting into position to run. He spots Laurel a few people down from him and she's white as a ghost. He gives Laurel a small smile to let her know that he's rooting for her and she actually smiles back. Then he spots Niall who's eyeing the woods, and Liam who is leaning forward, ready to sprint straight for the mouth of the Cornucopia.

The timer hits zero and suddenly they're all off, most of them bounding right to the Cornucopia, the others rushing to the forest. Zayn grabs the blanket and the rope and makes a mad dash for the backpack. He beats another boy to it by just seconds and runs to the forest. He chances a brief glance at Liam, but he's nowhere in sight.

He continues to run through the woods-- which prove to be much thicker than he previously thought-- until he feels as if his lungs are about to burst. He looks around to see if there is anybody nearby and, when he deems it safe, sits against a trunk of a tree and looks through the backpack.

Inside he finds a sleeping bag, another rope, a flashlight, a small knife, matches, and an empty water bottle. He puts everything back into the pack, including the extra bundle of rope he had grabbed. He looks at the fabric, trying to figure out what to do with it, and gets an idea just as the first cannon goes off. He stops for minute to count the number of cannons, which signal the death of a tribute. He counts seven in all and wishes it could have been a larger number so there would less people out to get him, and less people he might have to kill.

He wonders who the other sixteen survivors are. He knows that Niall is okay, because he saw him running into the forest, he's pretty sure he saw Laurel go into the forest as well, so hopefully she's okay, it's just Liam he's not so certain about.

Zayn's not totally sure how to feel about Liam. At first he had only been trying to keep his distance from him to stay focused on his training and keep from getting distracted. But then he saw him working with Niall and he seemed like he genuinely wanted to help Zayn when they were practicing with the knives, and Zayn decided that maybe Liam wasn't so bad. Then during his interview he said that he and Laurel stood out and Zayn started thinking that Liam's kindness towards him was all an act. That Liam wants to win so much that he's willing to step on anyone he can. It definitely makes sense, considering how he went at that boy from District 3 just for making one little joke.

He shakes his head, clearing his mind of Liam and what kind of game he may possibly be playing at. He needs to stay aware at all times, just in case someone-- or some _thing_ \-- is out there, waiting to catch him off-guard. He also has to find some kind of source of food and water and a place to sleep tonight. He figures he'll create some kind of makeshift shelter on the ground underneath a tree, and camouflage it with the dark green blanket and some leaves. He thinks it would be best to fall asleep as late as possible and wake up as early as possible.

Zayn stuffs the blanket into the backpack and pulls it on. He spends his time trekking through the forest by looking for food water, trying to be as quiet as possible. He supposes he could wait until it rains, but he has no idea how long it will be until it rains, or it ever will.

It's just starting to get dark when he finally finds a large pond amongst a clearing of trees. On the other side is a small cliff, and Zayn wonders if the pond is deep enough so that if someone tried to jump off they would survive. Zayn'd rather not try and find and out for himself.

He kneels at the edge of the shore and fills up his water bottle. Suddenly, he hears someone yell and what sounds like a group of people running. It sounds as if they're approaching the cliff on the other side of the pond, so Zayn retreats behind some bushes.

He can see a boy running straight for the edge of the cliff, but he stops short when he finds he has no more ground to run on. Zayn's breath hitches in his throat when he realizes it's Liam, and he almost stops breathing when a large group of people led by the boy from District 3 appear behind him.

"Looks like you've got nowhere else to go, District 4," District 3 sneers.

Liam turns around slowly to face him and all of a sudden there's a knife at his throat. Zayn can't see Liam's face from where he's hiding so he can't tell if Liam is terrified or totally calm.

"There's no need for the knife," Liam says evenly, and Zayn guesses that he's not that afraid of these kids, although he probably should be. "I'm sure we can all settle this in a nice, civilized way."

District 3 takes a step forward, forcing Liam closer to the edge. "You lost that chance when you punched me in the training center. The only difference is that now no one is stopping me from killing you."

"You act like it's all my fault," Liam says. "But let's not forget that it was _you_ who provoked _me_ , and that _you_ punched _me_ first."

"I don't give a fuck about who started it," District 3 snaps. "Just that I'm going to be the one to end it."

District 3 pulls his knife back and Liam uses that opportunity to turn back around and jump off the edge of the cliff and into the water. District 3 looks totally dumbstruck as he and the rest of his group lean over the edge to see if Liam is still alive. Liam doesn't resurface though and District 3 turns to his friends to say something in a low voice that Zayn can't hear from his position. Then a cannon sounds and the entire group cheers as they walk away from the cliff.

Zayn is about to leave his spot when he notices the water rippling. He stays where he is as he watches Liam's head pop over the surface and he smirks up at the now empty cliff edge. Zayn is completely dumbfounded by the entire situation. The survival of the jump isn't what's puzzling him, it's the fact that the cannon was perfectly timed to make it seem as if Liam had died.

Liam seems unfazed by the entire thing as he swims to the shore and gets out. Zayn considers coming out of his hiding spot to confront Liam about how he did that, but decides against it when he realizes that Liam could possibly kill him in a second if he wanted to, not that Zayn thought he would but it's better to be safe than sorry.

"You can come out now," Liam calls, looking around the area. Zayn freezes, and doesn't answer. Liam sighs and says, "I know you're around here somewhere, Zayn."

Zayn groans and comes out of his hiding place. "How did you know I was here?"

Liam points to where his backpack is still lying on the edge of the shore, forgotten in Zayn's haste to hide. "I saw you grab that before you ran into the forest."

"How did you do it?" Zayn blurts because he just wants to get away from Liam as soon as he possibly can.

Liam raises an eyebrow. "How did I do what?"

"How did you time the cannon perfectly with your fall?" Zayn clarifies.

"I didn't," Liam smirks, "I just got lucky."

Zayn rolls his eyes. "Well if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be."

"I think we could both use each other's help," Liam says as Zayn moves around him to grab his backpack. "I know you don't want it, but--"

"It's not that I don't want help," Zayn cuts him off, "it's that I don't want _your_ help."

Liam frowns. "Why not?"

"Because it's all an act," Zayn says. "I know that you don't really care about me or Niall or anyone but yourself. I know that if I become your ally then you won't hesitate to kill me if it means your victory."

"Is that really what you think?" Liam says, sounding genuinely upset, but Zayn reminds himself that it's an act, that he's not actually that hurt by Zayn's words because they're true. "Why would you think that?"

Zayn's not sure why he thinks this. Yes, there is what Liam said during the interview, but other than that, he doesn't know why he's so against Liam. So he says the first thing that comes to his mind: "No Career is that nice, that's why."

Liam stands frozen in place with a wounded expression on his face as Zayn turns around and leaves the pond. He wonders if Liam will follow him and try to argue, and Zayn has to admit that he's a little more than disappointed when he doesn't. Zayn tells himself that he shouldn't care-- that he _doesn't_ care about Liam. But if he doesn't care about Liam, then why did that look on his face when Zayn left him make his stomach tighten and his legs feel weak? Whenever Zayn reminds himself that he hates Liam why does it make him want Liam more? Zayn thinks that he's never met a person that confuses him more than Liam Payne.

-

He sets up a place to sleep soon after leaving Liam at the pond. It's behind a thick bush full of bright purple plants underneath a thick area of trees. He knows that it's not safe for him to sleep, but if he doesn't rest now then his exhaustion is only going to get worse. Besides, he doesn't think that he's going to find a much safer place than this.

His eyes are starting to close when he suddenly hears the anthem of Panem starting. He stares up at the sky as vaguely familiar faces are shown, informing the surviving tributes who's still alive and who isn't. Zayn watches with his bottom lip caught between his teeth, hoping and praying that Niall and Laurel are still alive. He sighs in relief when it ends and neither of their faces are shown.

He does try to sleep, he really does. But he finds that every time he starts to drift off there's some kind of sound that has his jerking awake again and making him worried that someone is here to kill him. By the time the sun is coming up, Zayn figures that he's only gotten about thirty minutes of sleep at the most.

He sighs and gets up despite his growing fatigue, knowing that everyone else will be awake and alert, ready to kill. He starts getting ready by checking his supplies and making sure they're all still there. He drinks a little bit of his water, not too much but enough to satisfy his thirst. Then, he folds his blanket that he had used to hide his camp a little better last night while he was asleep.

Suddenly, as he's starting to straighten up and leave, someone jumps down onto the ground from above him, landing gracefully on their feet right in front of the bush. Zayn freezes in place, his eyes wide. He had spent the entire night sleeping _right underneath someone._

Zayn can't even put into words the immense relief he feels when that person turns around and he realizes that it's Niall.

"Niall?" Zayn says, standing up all the way.

Niall spins around, knife in hand, poised and ready to attack. He lets his hand fall to his side when he sees that it's only Zayn standing in front of him.

"Holy shit, Zayn," Niall breathes. "I can't believe you're still alive."

Zayn comes out from behind the bushes and hugs him. "Me neither. I mean, I saw that you weren't last night, but it's so much better having proof that you really are still here."

They let go of each other and Niall asks, "Have you run into any tributes yet?"

"I saw Liam," Zayn says right away. "He was being chased by a group led by the boy from District 3 that he got into a fight with. But he got away."

"And he was alone?" Niall asks, sounding puzzled.

"Yeah."

"Huh," Niall says. "He told me the night of the interviews that he was teaming up with Louis and Harry. He asked me if I wanted to be an ally with them but I said that I prefer to be alone. So it's kind of weird that he'd be alone."

Zayn shrugs. "I don't really give a shit about what he does or who he's with. I just want to survive and get back home to my family." He shoulders past Niall and starts to walk away.

It's not that he doesn't like Niall or anything. The problem is that he _does_ like Niall. But if he wants to win then he can't get close to anyone in case there's only two of them left, and he can't fathom killing someone, let alone someone he likes.

"You don't think that other people are thinking the exact same thing?" Niall says, following him. "They can act all tough as they want, but inside they're worried about the same thing that you are: That they're never going to see their homes or families ever again."

"I thought you said that you preferred to be alone?" Zayn snaps, turning back around to face him.

Niall looks taken aback by his outburst. "Well, maybe it would be easier if I had someone to work with, you know?"

Zayn shakes his head and takes a step closer to Niall. "What happens if we do become allies, and we somehow manage to defeat everyone else, and we're the only two left? Do you think it's going to be easy killing each other, after we've become friends and gotten to know each other through all of this?"

"I have a simple solution for that," Niall says easily. "Rock, paper, scissors."

Zayn snorts and starts walking away again. "I can't do that, Niall. It's hard enough for me to even consider killing someone I don't care about. I think it'd just be easier if I did this on my own."

"Okay," Niall agrees. "If that's what you want. But can I just ask you for one favor?"

Zayn stops but doesn't turn around. "What?"

"We don't kill or hurt each other," Niall says. "If one of us is in a bad situation and the other is around, then we'll help each other out. And if both of us do manage to get to the end, then I want you to kill me."

Zayn turns around at that. "Niall, I already told you--"

"I want you to kill me," Niall reiterates firmly. "I know you might not want to, but just think, you have your sisters and your parents to go home to. What do I have? My older brother was killed in the Games years ago. My father was executed by the Capitol for trying to escape our District. My mother was so upset by their deaths that she killed herself without even thinking about me. If my name hadn't been called then I probably would've volunteered."

Zayn's not sure what to say to that. He had no idea what Niall's life was like back home. "Then," he starts slowly, "if you don't care about surviving, why are you trying so hard to win?"

"When my brother was saying goodbye to us after his name was called at the Reaping," Niall explains, "he told me that he didn't think he had any chance of winning, but he sure as hell was going to try. But, he told me, if he didn't win, and my name was ever called, then he wanted me to win. He wanted me to show everyone that just because I'm from District 11 doesn't make me less than everyone else. _That's_ why I'm trying to win, to make my brother proud.

"But I think that if it was down to the two of us," Niall finishes, "that he'd understand if I let you kill me. I think he'd still be proud that I made it and I let someone who really deserves to win. So will you please do that for me?"

Zayn sighs. "Okay, Niall. But just know that I'm not going to enjoy it."

Niall smiles. "Thank you."

Zayn starts on his way, but Niall stops him again.

"What is it this time?" Zayn says, trying not to sound as annoyed as he is. He just wants to get a move on. He feels like a sitting duck out here talking to Niall, just waiting for someone to come out from behind a tree and murder them.

"I almost forgot," Niall says quickly, "but I saw Laurel. She hiding near a clearing, not far from here. She asked me to tell you to find her if I ever found you. She says she thinks she picked up something near the Cornucopia that might be of use to you."

"Me?" Zayn says, confused. What in the world could possibly be of use to him and not her?

"I don't know," Niall says, "ask her. She's over," he points to his right, "in that direction, I think."

"Thanks Niall," Zayn says, and goes on his way.

**\---**

**Liam**

There's too many trees in this forest, Liam thinks as he flies through it, trying to outrun the voices of the Careers that are following him. He knows it was stupid of him to try and sneak into their camp and try to steal some of their supplies, but he couldn't help himself. Maybe he wouldn't have done it if Cara hadn't snuck into the camp he, Louis, and Harry had set up the night before and tried to kill him.

As he runs through the trees he tries to remember the exact route back to his camp. But he feels like he's been running for hours (when it's probably only been a few minutes) and there's no way it should be taking this long to get back.

Suddenly, he feels his foot hit something hard and he's falling to the ground, going too fast to catch himself. He stands back up, but a sudden burst of pain erupts in his right ankle when he starts to run again. He slows down so it doesn't hurt as much, but he knows that there's no way he can continue going at this pace without the Careers catching up to him.

"You know you can't run forever, District 4!" someone shouts from somewhere behind him.

"Shit," Liam breathes, because they're a lot closer than he thought they were. He tries to speed up, but his ankle is in such overwhelming pain that he just ends up slowing down again.

All of a sudden, an arrow flies right by his head. Liam whirls around and finds himself facing the group of Careers, and they're absolutely furious. The girl holding the bow (from District 2, he believes) loads another arrow and shoots at him again. Liam ducks, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway since the arrow goes flying past him on the far right.

"What's wrong District 4?" the girl from District 1, Ruby, teases. "Where are your little friends? Dead already? We heard a cannon this morning, we're so sorry for your loss."

"I'll have you know," Liam says, backing away from them slowly, "that that cannon was for your friend Cara. And I never really liked her, so it wasn't much of a loss." He doesn't mention the fact that he had gotten Harry to kill her for him since it just didn't feel right for him to kill a tribute from his district.

The Careers are surprised by this information, but they quickly school their astonished expressions and focus back on the task at hand: killing Liam.

"That's okay," Willow, the girl from District 2, says. "That's one less person for us to kill then."

Liam opens his mouth to retort, but then sees someone moving behind the group with a long, sharp knife in her hand. She makes eye contact with Liam and puts a finger to her lips, silently telling him not to inform the Careers of her presence.

"You know," Liam says as Laurel continues to creep up behind them, "you guys really seem to understand how the game is played. But you've forgotten the most important rule."

Laurel is now behind Ruby, bringing her knife up slowly, just as Ruby responds with, "Oh yeah, and what's that?"

"Always watch your back," Liam says just as Laurel brings her knife down and stabs Ruby in the back.

Ruby screams as she falls to the ground, dropping the bow. Laurel finishes taking her out as Willow and the two other Careers run for Liam, but he kicks Willow in the stomach and pushes one of the boys (from District 6, he thinks, so not technically a Career) away from him. He stabs the girl from District 3 in the stomach, sending her to the ground.

Laurel takes care of the boy from District 6 as Liam finishes off the girl from District 3. Suddenly, there's a pair of arms grabbing at him from behind and wrestling him to the ground. Willow straddles his waist and pins his arms to the ground. Liam looks to Laurel for help, but she's too busy trying to fight off District 6 to help him.

"You could've been our ally," Willow says, her voice as sweet as honey. "You're smart, dangerous, and you're a good fighter. But you're too nice. You care too much about your little boyfriend from 12. What's his name, Zayn? Well, I just want you to know, that even if he's not dead now, he will be soon. Because once you're dead I'm going after him next."

"No you're not," Laurel says, yanking Willow's head back by her hair and slitting her throat. Liam squeezes his eyes shut as he feels her blood spray onto his face. He feels the weight on his body go slack as her lifeless body fall onto the ground beside him.

Four cannons sound so Liam opens his eyes and sees Laurel staring down at him, offering a hand to help him up. Liam takes it, accidentally putting his full weight on his hurt ankle as he stands.

"Oh fuck," he groans, almost falling again, but Laurel tightens her grip on his hand and helps him stay upright.

"Are you alright?" she says. Her voice is soft and melodic, and it comforts Liam.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Liam says, but Laurel looks disbelieving, so he adds, "It's my ankle. I tripped over something while I was running from them and I think I sprained it."

"Oh no," she says, looking down at his ankle with a worried expression.

"I'll be okay," Liam assures her. "And thank you for helping me. Why did you do it though?"

Laurel shrugs. "I guess I just figured that it would've been better for me if I helped you take them out instead of letting them kill you." Liam notices that she avoided using the word "kill".

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Liam asks.

"Zayn," she says, "if you see him, tell him to find me."

"Okay," Liam agrees, even though he knows that if he ever does run into Zayn again there's no way he'll listen to him.

"Also," Laurel adds, "I think I can help you with your ankle."

"Really?" Liam asks.

Laurel nods. "My mother is a doctor back in District 12 and she's taken care of plenty of sprained ankles."

"I appreciate your help," Liam says, "but I should really get back to Harry and Louis and let them know that I'm okay."

"They can come too," Laurel replies excitedly. "I found a really good hiding spot. It's nearly impossible to find."

Liam bites his lip. He trusts and likes Laurel, and he's sure that she feels the same way about him otherwise she wouldn't have saved his life, but he's not so sure how Louis and Harry would feel about her. They probably wouldn't mind, would even welcome her, they're nice enough, but he's still hesitant about it.

"Why don't you come and meet them first," Liam suggests.

Laurel agrees easily and after picking up some of the weapons left behind by the group of Careers. As Liam grabs the bow he reminds himself to give it to Niall if he ever runs into him, knowing that it would ever only be useful to him.

Liam leans on Laurel for support as they make their way to Liam's camp. Now that Liam isn't so focused on trying to outrun the Careers, it's much easier for him to remember where it is, and they find their way there in no time.

Harry and Louis look completely relieved when Liam arrives and they rush to hug him, but freeze when they realize that he's not alone.

"Who are you?" Louis demands.

"This is Laurel," Liam says. "And before you say anything, she saved my life. I was running from a group of Careers and she saw me and helped me fight them off."

Louis and Harry exchange a quick look before nodding. Harry says, "Would you like to be our ally?"

"I will, but only on one condition," she replies.

Louis narrows his eyes. "What condition?"

"I'll be your ally if you move your camp to mine," she says. "This place is way too out in the open, and it's not going to be long until someone finds you and kills you in your sleep."

Louis looks between Harry and Liam before a grin starts to slowly appear on his face. "I like you," he says. "So where's this camp of yours?"

Laurel smiles. "Follow me."

-

Laurel's hiding spot is as brilliant as she made it out to be. She leads them to a small pond, but this is a different one than the one Liam had seen Zayn at yesterday. Where that one just had a cliff, this one has a beautiful waterfall, shimmering and sparkling in the sunlight. Liam wonders how something so wonderful could exist in such an awful world.

Liam thinks that this is it, but then Laurel is leading them down a small path beside the pond and shows them into a huge cave right behind the waterfall. It's obvious that Laurel has a camp here since all of her supplies are spread out, but unless you know about the path and the cave, it would be almost impossible to find this place.

"I'm sorry, but it's kind of loud in here," Laurel says loudly over the sound of rushing water. "What do you think though?"

"It's brilliant," Louis admits as he explores the area a little more. "How did you even find this place?"

"I was running from the same Careers that Liam was running from," Laurel tells them, "and I stumbled upon this place while trying to find somewhere to hide."

"It's amazing," Harry agrees. "Come on, Louis, let's go get our things and move them in here. If that's okay with you, Laurel."

Laurel nods. "Yeah. It's just nice to not have to be alone in this anymore."

Louis and Harry give her a reassuring smile as they leave the cave to retrieve their supplies from their old camp.

"Let me see your ankle," Laurel says as soon as they're gone. She gestures for Liam to sit down and squats beside him once he does.

"How bad is it?" Liam asks as she examines it.

"It looks sprained," she answers. "Stand up and tell me, on a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain?"

Liam stands up and puts some weight on his right ankle. Immediately, white hot pain shoots through his entire leg and Liam falls back onto the floor of the cave. "Ten," he gasps, trying to breathe slowly and get the pain to subside. "Definitely ten."

Laurel studies his ankle again. "If it hurts that much," she considers, "then it might be broken, not sprained."

"What kind of doctor doesn't know the difference between a sprained ankle and a broken one?" Liam teases.

"I already told you," Laurel says, "my mother was the doctor, not me. But I'm not sure I know how to treat a broken ankle. You might just have to stay off of it for a couple of days."

"In a couple of days I might... not be here," Liam says. He can't bring himself to say "dead", doesn't want to think about that.

"Don't worry, Liam," Laurel says, "we'll take care of you."

Liam nods, but he wonders how long it will be until they turn on each other and leave him for dead. Sure, Harry and Louis have a plan to get them all out safely, but the plan isn't exactly foolproof, and there are so many things that could go wrong.

**\---**

**Zayn**

He hears some voices and freezes. There's something wrong with this though. These tributes are talking loudly, as if they're not worried at all about other people overhearing them and attacking them. Zayn figures they must be pretty stupid to be doing so and takes a bold step forward.

That was apparently the wrong thing to do. As soon as steps forward there are two people standing just five feet in front of him pointing spears at him. He holds his hands up and takes a step back, but it's no use because his back just ends up hitting a tree.

He recognizes the tributes as the girl and boy from District 9, and he hadn't even realized they were a huge threat until now. During training and the interviews they both seemed so timid and meek, and nothing at all like the murderous threats standing in front of him.

"It's nice to meet you two," Zayn tries to joke, but it's obvious that he's completely terrified by the way his voice is shaking.

"District 12, right?" the girl says. "I'm surprised that you've managed to make it this far."

"It's a shame that you aren't going to win," the boy says. "You really could've showed everyone that just because you're from District 12 doesn't mean that you're totally useless."

"Then why don't you make me an asset," Zayn suggests hopefully. "If you don't think I'm totally useless make me an ally."

The two of them exchange a look before bursting into laughter. "Maybe you're not as smart as we thought you were," the girl says. "You realize if we don't kill you now we'll just end up killing you later, right?"

Zayn's heart sinks into his stomach. He thought that maybe he would've been able to talk his way out of this situation, but they're right, he's not as smart as he thought. He realizes that this is it, this is the moment he dies and he prays that his parents have told his sisters to look away, and that maybe he doesn't look as frightened as he feels.

Just as the girl pulls her arm back to throw the spear through his chest, she makes a surprised sound before falling face first to the ground, an arrow in her back. The boy spins around, ready to spear whoever her attacker was, but an arrow lodges itself into his chest before he can.

Behind them, stands Harry with a bow in his hand, his friend Louis right next to him. Once the sounds of two cannons go off, Harry and Louis walk up to him, but they're not menacing or threatening. In fact, they're actually smiling at Zayn.

"How are you doing, Zayn?" Louis asks.

"I'm doing just fine," Zayn snaps, moving past them.

"Really?" Harry says, following him. "Because it looked to me like you were about to die."

"A 'thank you' would be nice right about now," Louis adds.

"Thank you," Zayn says. "Now, if you'll please excuse me, I'm looking for the other tribute from my district."

"Wait," Louis says, "you're looking for Laurel?"

"Yeah," Zayn says, turning around. "Why the fuck would you care, though?"

"We know where she is," Harry tells him.

Honestly, that's the last thing Zayn had been expecting to hear. "You do?"

Harry nods. "She saved Liam's life and now we're allies with her."

If Zayn had been surprised by Harry's first statement, it's nothing compared to how he feels when Harry says that. And he can't help but feel worried that Liam almost died, even though he tries to tell himself that he doesn't care about Liam.

"We can help you find her," Louis offers.

"You trust me?" Zayn asks, confused. Why would they trust him? They don't even know him.

"Liam trusts you, so we trust you," Harry replies.

"Liam trusts me?" Zayn says doubtfully.

"Yeah," Louis says, "he won't stop going on about how brave and smart you are. I'm pretty sure he's in love with you or something."

Zayn's not sure why, but Louis' comment makes his chest tighten in the best possible way. He ignores the feeling and says, "Fine, show me where Laurel is."

The two of them grin at Zayn before showing him the way to Laurel (and Liam). It doesn't take them long to get to a larger pond than the one he had been at with Liam yesterday, this one with a waterfall cascading over a cliff. He follows Harry and Louis down a path that leads them to a large cave behind the waterfall with supplies strewn all over.

"Zayn?"

Zayn sees Liam sitting against a wall, one of his pant legs rolled up. He has some fabric that looks like it had been ripped off from someone's shirt wrapped around one of his ankles. Zayn walks over to Liam and drops to his side.

"What happened?" he asks, reaching out to touch his ankle, but pulling his hand back at the last second. He tries to remind himself, yet again, that he's supposed to hate Liam, but he seems so vulnerable right now, and there's so much warmth in his huge brown eyes that Zayn is starting to believe that maybe his kindness isn't just an act.

Liam smiles at him. "I was running from some Careers and I tripped and fell. Laurel says she thinks it might be broken. What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for Laurel," Zayn tells him, "but I ran into some trouble and Harry and Louis helped me out."

"Are you okay?" Liam says, sounding so genuinely concerned that Zayn can't help but smile at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Zayn assures him. "Wait, where _is_ Laurel?"

"She went out to get some food," Liam says. "She'll be back soon."

"How long will it be until your ankle gets better?" Louis asks Liam, crouching down next to Zayn.

Liam shrugs. "I don't know. Laurel said that she doesn't know how to treat a broken ankle so she just told me to stay off of it for a couple of days."

"But Liam--" Zayn starts, but Liam finishes for him.

"I might not have a couple of days," he says, looking at Zayn. "I know that, but I'll be fine."

"Besides," Harry says, coming over to where they're all sitting, "he'll be totally fine if our plan works."

Zayn looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "What plan?"

Harry opens his mouth to explain but he's interrupted by Laurel coming back with a variety of berries and plants that she must have found in the forest.

"I'll tell you later," Harry says as he goes over to Laurel and helps her figure out which plants are poisonous and which aren't.

Once they're finished eating the sun has already set. They hear the anthem start to play and Louis heads outside to see who's dead. He comes back and reports that seven people are dead, including Cara and the two from District 9 that he had saved Zayn from.

With the eight from yesterday and the seven from today, that means there's only nine of them left. If there are five of them in this cave, and Niall is still alive, that means there are three other tributes to get rid of before they'll have to turn on each other. Zayn sincerely hopes that those other three kill them first before it comes to that.

Harry and Louis offer to stand watch for the first half of the night and Laurel and Zayn decide to take the second half. Liam wanted to help too, but with his broken ankle it's not like he'd be able to defend them well if someone came and attacked them.

Zayn makes a bed for himself near Liam, sharing the blanket with him. Liam had given him a questioning look when he had spread the blanket out over both of them, but Zayn had just ignored it and turned so his back was facing Liam.

He thought that maybe he would have better luck getting to sleep tonight since he's in a much safer spot, but he finds his mind racing about thoughts of Liam and how rude he had been to him for absolutely no reason at all. It had been totally uncalled for when he accused Liam of pretending to like him just so he could win.

Finally, when he can no longer stand the guilt eating away at him any longer, he turns to face Liam and says softly, "Liam? You awake?"

Zayn can faintly make out Liam opening his eyes and nodding in the darkness. "Yeah, you okay?"

"I'm fine," Zayn whispers. "It's just... I'm sorry."

Liam yawns. "Why?"

"For not trusting you," Zayn says. "And for being so rude to you when you've been nothing but nice to me."

"I forgive you," Liam says. "I just want to know why you hated me so much."

Zayn pauses to think about it for some time before saying, "I think it was because I was scared. I was scared of getting too close to you and liking you too much and then eventually being forced to kill you. But I think that it's too late, I like way more than I should already, and I know that at this point, there's no way I'm going to be okay with you dying, at mine or anyone else's hand."

Zayn's not sure but he thinks he sees Liam smiling. "If it makes you feel any better, I like you way too much too, Zayn." He feels Liam grab his hand and squeezes it under the blanket. "I'm glad you're here with me."

"Me too," Zayn answers before closing his eyes again. He falls asleep holding onto Liam's hand tightly.

-

It rains for the first time in the arena while Zayn and Laurel are taking watch during the second half of the night. They move further underneath the coverage of the trees so they don't get as wet, but it's coming down so hard that they end up getting soaked in just a few minutes anyway.

It's probably because of the thunderous sound of rushing water from the waterfall right beside them paired with the pouring rain that limits their visibility that they don't see them coming. It's like, one moment they're sitting there, laughing about something that happened during school once back in District 12, and the next they're being ambushed.

It starts with Zayn feeling someone's hands on his shoulders, but before he can do anything about it, he's pushed into the water.

Zayn's bewildered as he starts to sink, deeper and deeper. The pond is much deeper than he had previously imagined, which is unfortunate for him considering he has no idea how to swim. He's frightened and confused, so he just kicks and moves his arms around, trying to reach the surface that's becoming ever so distant.

It's getting harder and harder for him to hold his breath, and he's starting feel lightheaded. He's giving up hope, the struggle is getting to be too much for him now and he finds himself letting go.

Suddenly, there's a pair of arms around his waist, pulling him up. When they emerge on the surface Zayn takes a gasping breath of air. The arms around his waist don't loosen as he's brought to the shore. Zayn leans against it and coughs, trying to get as much sweet, sweet oxygen into his lungs as possible. He's never been so grateful for it before, and he swears that he's never going to take it for granted again.

He looks up and sees five people fighting with each other on the shore. He spots Harry and Louis with the boy from District 5, Harry being pinned down beneath his foot while Louis tries to get him off. Laurel's right next to them, taking on the girl from District 10, and it looks like neither of them are winning.

So if Louis, Harry, and Laurel are all on land fighting then that means...

"Liam," Zayn realizes, looking at the boy leaning on the shore beside him. "Your ankle--"

"Hurts like a bitch," Liam says, grinning. "But I heard Laurel shouting for help, saying that you had fallen in, I didn't think, I just jumped in."

Zayn shakes his head. "You're insane," he says, moving closer to Liam. "You saved my life, but you're fucking insane."

Liam's grin grows even wider and he's leaning closer and closer to Zayn until--

"Zayn! Liam!"

Laurel's sudden shout of alarm has the two of them jerking apart and turning their attention back to what's happening on shore. District 10 has Laurel backed against a tree, a knife dangerously close to her throat. Laurel is trying to hold her off as best as she can, but Zayn can tell that there's no way she's going to last much longer. Laurel is small, and District 10 is much bigger and stronger than her.

Zayn pulls himself off shore and then lends a hand to help Liam up. Liam grimaces as he stands up, but gives Zayn a reassuring smile to let him know that he's fine. Zayn rushes over to where Laurel is, just as District 10 plunges the knife into her chest.

"No!" Zayn screams as he pulls District 10 away from Laurel and pushes her into Liam, who shoves her to the ground and slits her throat. Laurel starts to fall, but Zayn catches her before she hits the ground.

He rips a strip off of his shirt and covers her wound with shaking hands to try and stop the bleeding. The strip is rapidly turning red, though, so he goes to rip another strip off, but Laurel stops him with a gentle hand on his.

"It's no use," she says, her voice uneven.

"No, Laurel," he says, "we can save you. You can't give up now, you've come too far."

"I know," Laurel says with a soft smile. "We've made it farther... than anyone else in our district. But maybe... I'm not meant to win the Games."

"You deserve to win though, Laurel," Zayn says, his voice cracking. He can't tell if the wetness on his cheeks is from the rain or his tears. "You deserve to win more than anyone else in this damn arena."

Laurel laughs but it's hollow and weak. "You're wrong, Zayn," she says, her voice growing quieter and her breaths becoming slower. "You deserve to win."

"Laurel--"

"I want you to win, Zayn," she says. "Oh, and one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"In my stuff, in the cave, is a set of knives," she tells him, shutting her eyes. "I grabbed them for you... when I was running from the Cornucopia."

Zayn smiles. "Why did you do that?"

"I saw you," she says, "with Liam during training. You were good."

"Thank you, Laurel," he says as she takes her last breaths.

Even after the three cannons go off Zayn can't move. Laurel was wrong; if anyone deserves to win, it's her, not Zayn. But she believes in him anyway, and he's not sure if he can. He's scared that he's going to let her down and her death is going to end up not meaning anything.

Zayn's not sure how long he stays like that, crying over Laurel's body, before Liam comes and helps him up so the airships can retrieve the bodies. He leads Zayn back inside the cave and they slide down to floor together. That's when Zayn breaks. He can't stop the sudden flow of tears as he grasps Liam's shirt and holds on for dear life.

Liam runs a soothing hand up and down Zayn's back and lets him cry. At one point he thinks Harry and Louis come inside, but Liam politely asks them to leave them alone.

When Zayn's tears stop falling and his breathing becomes a little steadier Liam starts to get up, but Zayn pulls him back down.

"Kiss me," he says quietly, his voice shaking. "Please."

Liam nods and sits back down in front of Zayn. He gingerly takes Zayn's face in his hands and waits until Zayn's breathing is back to normal before moving forward and kissing Zayn.

It's soft and unsure at first, Liam a little hesitant as he waits for Zayn to kiss him back. Finally, Zayn leans forward and presses his lips harder against Liam's. Zayn grabs the front of Liam's shirt and tries to pull him impossibly closer as the kiss begins to grow more desperate.

"Zayn," Liam breathes against his lips. He tries to pull back a little, but Zayn follows the movement, not wanting this to stop. He's afraid that if he stops kissing Liam now he's not going to get another chance to do it again.

"Zayn," Liam tries again, this time successfully breaking contact with Zayn when he moves back. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Zayn nods and kisses his lips once before moving down to his jaw and neck. Liam tangles his hands in Zayn's hair as he moves down to his collarbone and gasps when Zayn sucks a mark there. He moves back up and kisses Liam slowly again while tugging impatiently on the bottom of his shirt. Liam takes the hint and pulls it off quickly before going back to kissing Zayn.

Liam readjusts himself so that he's sitting completely on Zayn's as Zayn moves back so his back is right against the wall of the cave. Liam leans back as Zayn kisses down his chest, muttering, "Holy shit, you're gorgeous" as he moves down.

Liam laughs. "So are you," he says.

Zayn sits up straight again and shakes his head. "I'm not. I'm not as good looking as you, and I'm an awful person and I shouldn't be alive still."

Liam gently takes his face in his hands again and kisses his lips, then his cheek, then his jaw, before whispering against his neck, "Don't say that, Zayn. Don't _ever_ say that you shouldn't be alive. Okay?"

Zayn nods and lets Liam pull his shirt up and over his head. His head falls back against the wall as Liam kisses his neck and grinds against him.

"Liam," he gasps, "I really need you to--"

Liam nods and takes him into his hand. He kisses Zayn, gasping into his mouth as he grinds his hips down onto Zayn's and jerks him off. Liam moves his hand slowly at first, speeding up his movements as he kisses his way back down Zayn's neck until he's not kissing him anymore, just gasping heavily for breath.

Zayn is coming not long after, grabbing desperately at Liam's hair and leaning forward. Liam lets out a strangled breath as he comes a second later, biting at Zayn's shoulder. Zayn rests his head against the wall again as he waits for his breathing to return back to normal. Liam kisses his shoulder softly before resting his forehead on Zayn's shoulder.

By the time they finally get up and put their shirts back on the sun has already come up and it's not raining anymore. Harry and Louis come back as soon as they're dressed, with knowing smirks on their faces.

When Harry and Louis start to pack up all of their things Liam gives them a perplexed look. "What are you doing?" he asks.

"We're packing up," Louis answers as he looks through Laurel's supplies for anything that might be of use to them. He finds the set of knives Laurel had been telling Zayn about before she died and throws them to Zayn.

"Why?"

"It's time," is all Harry says.

"Time for what?" Zayn asks.

Harry and Louis grin at him.

"You'll see."

**\---**

**Liam**

His ankle is still in complete and utter pain, but he doesn't complain about it as he follows the other three out of the cave. When he starts to fall behind Zayn stops and waits for him. Liam smiles at him as he wraps an arm around his waist and lets Liam lean on him as they walk.

He's really hoping that this plan of Harry and Louis' works out. Not just for him, but for him and Zayn. He and Zayn just got started and he's not ready to let that go yet. He wants this plan to work out so that he and Zayn can have a chance to be together after this.

It seems like forever before they finally arrive at the Cornucopia. His ankle is screaming in pain and he has to sit down before his legs give out. Zayn's dropping to his side when he sits down, a frown tugging on the corners of his lips.

"I'm okay, just a little tired," Liam assures him, although he's feeling a little lightheaded. He doesn't want to alarm Zayn though so he doesn't say anything about it.

"You sure?" Zayn says, still looking worried.

Liam grabs his face and kisses him long and slow, not just to shut him up but because he's afraid that if this plan of theirs doesn't work then they're not going to have another chance to do this.

Zayn's grinning at him as he helps him back up again. Zayn supports Liam as he limps closer to where Harry and Louis are standing next to the Cornucopia.

There's a rumble of thunder and the sky starts to darken as Harry says, "Does everyone know what's happening?"

Liam nods but Zayn shakes his head. That's when he realizes that Zayn has no idea what's about to happen, the damage that they're about to do, not just to the Games, but the entire country. As he hears some shouts from nearby in the forest and the rain starts to come down Liam realizes that they may not have enough time to explain to Zayn what the plan is.

His thoughts are affirmed when Louis says to them, "We don't have time to tell you. You just need to trust us and do everything we say, okay?"

Zayn looks at Liam, unsure, and Liam nods and squeezes his hand, letting him know that everything is going to be alright. Zayn looks back at Harry and Louis and nods in agreement.

All of a sudden there's a crack of lightning and two people are sprinting out of the forest. Niall runs past the four of them and climbs quickly on top of the Cornucopia, slipping a few times because of the wetness from the rain. The boy that was chasing him, however, slows down when he sees Liam.

"So we meet again, District 4," District 3 says as he stalks over to Liam, Zayn instinctively tightening his grip around Liam. District 3's eyes flicker to Zayn. "And you've got your boyfriend to protect you and everything."

"It's five against one," Harry says calmly. "You realize that it's no use right?"

District 3 laughs at them loudly right as there's another rumble of thunder from overhead. He looks completely manic right then, Liam thinks. He's almost totally covered in blood from head to toe, his eyes are wild and crazed, and he's _laughing_. This isn't a good situation for any of them.

"We'll see who has the last laugh when you're dead, you fucker," Louis says as he marches angrily towards District 3. District 3 just smiles at him before reaching into the pocket of his raincoat and producing a small, black, metal object. Louis stops in his tracks when he sees it.

"What is that?" Zayn asks.

District 3 cackles again. "It's a fucking bomb, you idiot."

"How did you get that?" Liam asks. There's no way he could've gotten a bomb, no way the gamemakers would've provided one for them in the Cornucopia.

"I dug it up," District 3 answers, nodding his head in the direction of where one of the pedestals they had come up on is. "And then I figured out how to reprogram it so that it works again. You guys are so fucked." He starts to laugh again.

While he laughs Liam notices Niall discreetly sliding down the side of the Cornucopia and taking the bow and arrow from Louis. He holds it up and aims it at District 3, who just starts laughing even harder. Harry nods at Liam and Zayn and gestures for them to start making their way across the clearing, away from District 3. That's when Liam realizes what's about to happen; there's no way District 3 isn't going to use the bomb so they're going to try and outrun it before it goes off.

"You release that arrow and I defuse this bomb," District 3 says as Zayn and Liam start to retreat. "And then there will be no Victors."

"Maybe that's a good thing," Niall considers. "Maybe we'll be teaching the Capitol a lesson to not fuck with us."

"If we have to run," Zayn whispers in Liam's ear, "then I want you to run. I want you to forget about your ankle and focus on me, okay?"

Liam nods, knows that won't be too hard since Zayn is so much more important than his stupid ankle.

Niall releases the arrow, but instead of hitting District 3's chest like Liam thought it would, it hits the arm holding the bomb. District 3 drops the bomb as he curls his arm into his chest and rips the arrow out. Harry, Louis and Niall start sprinting away from him and Zayn grabs Liam's hand and starts to run as the bomb hits the ground and explodes right underneath District 3's feet.

The force of the explosion sends the five of them flying forward and sprawling to the ground, but they're still miraculously alive. They watch in awe as the fire starts to die down little by little as the pouring rain works on putting it out.

Niall starts laughing in relief as Zayn reaches for Liam and kisses him quickly before yelling at Louis and Harry, "I'm guessing that that wasn't a part of your little plan, now was it?"

"No," Louis admits as he and Harry stand up and brush off their clothing. "But it made it a hell of a lot easier."

The other four look in the direction that he's pointing and see a gaping hole at the edge of the clearing.

"What the fuck is that?" Zayn says in astonishment as he and Liam stand up.

"That's our freedom," Harry says with a grin. Then, more quietly, he says, "Now, Liam, you know what to do."

Liam nods and pushes Zayn to the ground. Zayn's dumbfounded by the action, staring up at Liam incredulously as Harry and Louis grab Niall and run for the hole in the ground.

"What the hell?" Zayn says as Liam sits on his chest and punches Zayn in the face, but not putting as much power into the hit as he usually would.

"You were right," Liam says as he grabs his knife from his back pocket and holds it up to Zayn's throat, "it was all an act."

Zayn looks so hurt and wounded that Liam is quick to lean down and whisper, "I have to create a distraction while Louis and Harry get the airship ready for us."

Zayn still looks confused when Liam sits back up but he really doesn't have time to explain it more elaborately. He slaps Zayn and then says quietly, "Flip me over."

"What?" Zayn says, still puzzled about the situation.

Liam groans and says loudly, "What, you're not even going to fight back, you fucking coward?"

It's as if everything suddenly clicks into place and starts to make sense in Zayn's mind as he flips Liam over so that the roles are now reversed. Zayn grabs the knife that was in Liam's hand and holds it up to Liam's throat. He pins both of Liam's arms to the ground above his head with one hand while he leans in close to Liam.

"Two can play at that game," Zayn says, and the quiver in his voice is unmistakable. Liam wishes he could kiss Zayn until he calms down.

There's the loud whirring sound of machinery coming from above them all of a sudden, and Liam looks up at the sky, hoping to see the airship that Louis and Harry had described to him. Instead, he sees what is most definitely a Capitol airship.

They are so screwed.

"Stab me," Liam says suddenly. He's desperate and he can't think of any other way to keep the Capitol distracted while Louis and Harry get their shit together.

Zayn leans back and shakes his head. "Liam, I can't-- you know I can't do that to you."

Liam gives up the act and grabs the bottom of Zayn's shirt, pulling him down and kissing him. He covers Zayn's hand that's holding the knife and slowly bringing it down to his abdomen and plunging it into his skin.

There's a rush of warm liquid underneath his hand and Zayn draws back, staring at the knife lodged into Liam's abdomen in disbelief. The loss of blood paired with the pain from his ankle from sprinting across the clearing makes Liam feel lightheaded and overcome with fatigue. He rests his head against the ground and lets his eyes close.

"You dick," he mutters at Zayn before he passes out.

**\---**

**Zayn**

Two days later and he's still waiting for Liam to recover. He can't believe Liam would do that. He's been banging his head against the wall trying to figure out why Liam would do that to himself, but it just doesn't make any fucking sense.

He waits anxiously in the chair outside of Liam's hospital room in District 13. He had no idea this place even existed still until Louis and Harry had explained to him on the airship that had arrived for them soon after Liam had stabbed himself. They said that they had been here for years, planning a revolution. They've just been waiting for the right spark.

Harry and Louis had thought that that would've been it, but they later informed Zayn that it apparently wasn't. Instead of making a statement like they had been planning, the Games have been completely disregarded and ignored. The Capitol is forcing every citizen in Panem to just forget those Games had even happened.

But Zayn knows that it's useless. It's not going to be long until something like this happens again, and there's no way they can ignore that there's a spark, that there's something about to ignite that they can't stop.

Suddenly the door to Liam's room opens and a doctor emerges. They open their mouth to tell Zayn something, but he's not listening. He's too busy rushing into Liam's room and to his side. Liam's smiling at him and Zayn leans over him and kisses him hard, to make up for lost time.

When Zayn pulls back he slaps Liam. Liam winces but nods, as if he had been expecting it. "You fucking _idiot_!" Zayn shouts at him. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was scared," Liam says, "and desperate. I still thought there was some way to keep the Capitol distracted so I gave it a shot. It was pretty stupid of me though, huh?"

"Massively," Zayn says, climbing on top of Liam's bed and straddling his waist, careful not to put too much pressure on his wound. "Incredibly." He leans down and hovers just above Liam's lips. "Terribly." He presses his lips to Liam's.

Liam smiles against his lips. "And yet you still like me. So it must not have been _that_ bad."

Zayn draws back. "You almost _died_ , Liam. Do you have any idea what that did to me?"

Liam looks down at his hands sheepishly. "I didn't mean to scare you, Zayn. I just wanted you to survive, and I would've done anything to make that happen."

"Have I ever told you that you're insane?" Zayn says, shaking his head, but he's smiling down at Liam.

"I think so," Liam says. "But it's nice to be reminded every once in a while."

Zayn rolls his eyes and kisses Liam again. Although he's been through a lot of shit and has had to give up a lot, for once in his life he's really, truly happy. And the spark of electricity he gets whenever Liam kisses or touches him is the only spark he needs right now.

 

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, sorry if that was terrible, but at least I tried, right?


End file.
